Eldorado Resorts said it Thursday its merger with Caesars Entertainment was approved by three state gaming regulatory organizations and the $17.3 billion deal was on track for a closing in the first half of the year.
In a brief statement, Reno-based Eldorado said the transaction was approved by the Louisiana Racing Commission, the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission and the Illinois Gaming Board. Earlier this month, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved the transaction.
The deal requires approvals by regulatory agencies in 18 states and a sign-off by the Federal Trade Commission. Eldorado’s management team will oversee the combined company.
In Louisiana, Eldorado and Caesars currently operate a combined six properties. Eldorado announced an agreement on Jan. 13 to sell the Eldorado Shreveport to Las Vegas-based Maverick Gaming for $230 million.
In Illinois, Caesars owns Harrah’s Joliet and Harrah’s Metropolis while Eldorado owns the Grand Victoria in Elgin. Eldorado does not own any properties in Pennsylvania, but Caesars operates Harrah’s Philadelphia.
In November, Shareholders from Eldorado and Caesars overwhelmingly voted in favor of the gaming companies’ merger. Under terms of the agreement, Eldorado will pay $8.40 per share in cash and 0.0899 shares of Eldorado stock for each Caesars share, or $12.75 per share. The combined business will be called Caesars and its shares will be traded on the Nasdaq.
Once the deal closes, the combined company, which will be renamed Caesars, will be governed by a new 11-person board of directors.
Eldorado is providing six of its current board members to the combined company: Chairman Gary Carano, Reeg – who will be CEO of the new company – David Tomick, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., Michael Pegram and Bonnie Biumi.
Current Caesars directors Keith Cozza, Jan Jones Blackhurst, Don Kornstein, Courtney Mather and James Nelson will be part of the new board. Cozza, Mather and Nelson were appointed to the Caesars board in 2019 by corporate raider Carl Icahn, who controls more than 17 percent of the current Caesars.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
